Device for perforating and sorting indicia bearing cards



June 20, 1967 T. w. HALL 3,326,219

DEVICE FOR PERFORATING AND SORTING INDICIA BEARING CARDS Filed April 24,1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

* By 7, 50017R5 1/1 HALL June 20, 1967 T. w. HALL 3,326,219

DEVICE FOR PERFORATING AND SORTING INDICIA BEARING CARDS Filed April 24,1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2-

OOOEJOOOOOUOO INVENTOR. THEHDZUFE W. HAL L Y [jnfOQOOOOnO OnLDOOOO /gJune 20, 1967 w HALL 3,326,219

DEVICE FOR PERFORA'I'ING AND SORTING INDICIA BEARING CARDS Filed April24, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. THfHDZZRE W HALL United States Patent3,326,219 DEVICE FOR PERFORATING AND SORTING INDICIA BEARING CARDSTheodore W. Hall, 287 Linda St., Belford, NJ. 07718 Filed Aug. 24, 1965,Ser. No. 482,157 6 Claims. (Cl. 129-161) The present invention relatesto a device for holding a stack of indicia bearing cards to selectivelynotch or slot said cards and in which each notch or slot is POSI- tionedto indicate a particular number, letter, classification, personnelinformation, etc. and further in which the apparatus provides automaticmeans for selecting a card or cards from said stack of cards whencertain information is set up.

With punched or slotted cards that are punched or slotted to providecertain data, in the past the means of selecting any card or cards froma plurality of cards based on a particular item of the data punchedthereon was simply, first an alignment of all cards so that similar datawas slotted or perforated so that the slots or perforations would fallin alignment. Next a hand operated single needle or double needle wasinserted through a particular slot or perforation for selection of allcards having a particular item of data, picking up the alignedperforations where the card is slotted. The slotted cards are easilyremoved thus sorting one or more cards from the group of cards. Thecards removed all having the single item of data thereon. In this typeof sorting of cards by hand it becomes a tedious operation, both theindividual punching of each card to slot the edge of the card based onthe information to be included on that particular card and the slowdifficult insertion of a needle through a plurality of aligned cards toretain all cards not slotted and permit the dropping of all slottedcards having that particular information thereon.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a key operated punchto permit an easy and rapid punching of each card with the desired slotsto incorporate the desired data on that particular card.

A further object of this invention is to provide means to retain aplurality of slotted cards in an aligned position and in which a needleor a plurality of needles are positioned in alignment with theperforations of said cards and in which means are provided to releaseone or more needles and in which means are provided to propel thereleased needle or needles through particular perforations in said cardsto hold all unslotted cards and means are provided to agitate said cardsto release or drop all slotted cards that are slotted where the holdingneedle passes through said cards and means to hold said remaining cardsand return said needle or needles to their initial position.

Other objects of this invention shall be apparent by reference to theaccompanying detailed description and the drawings in which FIG. 1 is aperspective view of a card sorting device shown partially in crosssection,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the card sorting device,

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail in perspective of .a portion of the device,

FIG. 5 is a partial view in elevation of the card holder ledge,

FIG. 6 is a partial view in elevation showing the card ejector,

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a single card, and

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the electrical circuit for theoperation of the device.

"ice

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there isillustrated a device 10 for punching and sorting data bearing cards. Thedevice is comprised of the following combined components, namely, a cardpunching portion 11, a card reader and retainer portion 12, a selectorrod release portion 14, a portion 15 comprised of an automatic means fordriving said selector rods into a plurality of cards, a portion 16 whichincludes a vibrator and release for dropping selected cards, allcomponents being retained within a single framework 18 to make a compactdevice. Referring to portion 11 the framework 18 comprises a baseportion 18B with a pair of upturned side elements 18S (FIG. 2), mountedon the base 18B there is a supporting element 19 that is provided with aplurality of slots 20. Element 19 is provided with a bore 21 extendingacross the complete element to permit mounting a pin 22 therethrough. Aplurality of elongated keys 23 are provided of a shape and size to fitloosely within slots 20. The keys 23 are each provided with aperforation 24 so that pin 22 will pass through perforation 24 retainingeach key 23 in a pivotal relationship. It is to be noted that thesupporting element 19 retains keys 23 in an elevated position above base18B. It is also to be noted that the spacing of the sides 18S (FIG. 2)on either side of base 18B is of a predetermined width to permitinserting a card on base 18B and fitted between the sides 188. Thepredetermined width of the card to be utilized as illustrated in FIG. 7determines the depth of the card punching platform P. At the prescribeddepth the base 18B has a raised portion 25 so that the card edge willabut with portion 25 when inserted on platform P. A second cardretaining portion 26 spans the space between sides 18S and is spacedfrom platform P sufliciently to allow the card to be inserted within theslot shaped area, the card assuming the position as illustrated indotted lines in FIG. 1. Each key 23 is provided with a slotting punch 27pivotally affixed to key 23 and hanging from key 23 and fitted into abore between the portion 25 and 26 and extending through platform P.Referring to FIG. 7 a card 30 is illustrated, card 30 being one of manytypes of cards utilized in this particular type of punch and slotsorting, card 30 having a length L and width W to fit the platform P ofthe portion 11 of this device. With a card 30 provided with a pluralityof punches 31 each indicating a different particular data for filing,one side or both sides of the card may be utilized. If a card 30 is tobe utilized in portion 11, it is inserted as illustrated in dotted lineson platform P and the keys 23 may be depressed by means of their buttons28. Referring to FIG. 2 it is apparent that particular keys may beselected to provide a slotting of card 30 in a fashion as illustrated inFIG. 7. In this instance five keys have been depressed to provide fiveslots in card 30. With a plurality of stacked cards that have beenslotted in different fashion but in which one or more cards have beensimilarly slotted in the fourth hole from the left (FIG. 7), theselection of particular cards is facilitated to be described later. Withthe card 30 slotted as desired, the card 30 may be removed from platformP and stacked with a plurality of cards as long as the same facing ofcards is observed, that is, each card is provided with a cut edge 32 toindicate the correct positioning of all cards. Although the cardpunching portion 11 is primarily for the slotting of cards to indicateparticular data, the keys 23 of this portion extend into the selectorrod release portion, that is, each key 23 at its end opposite to thebutton end 28 is provided with a hook shaped end 35, all of the hookshaped ends 35 being in alignment and extending downward to engage theupstanding end 36 of a plurality of selector rods 37. To retain keys 23in a proper engaged position, a platform P is provided 3 so that thelower portion of keys 23 rests upon platform P in its normal engagedposition as illustrated in FIG. 1. A platform P is provided between thesides 185 to support a plurality of the selector rods 37. Rods 37 arepositioned in alignment with each key 23 and in engagement with the endof each key 23 by an upturned end 36. The opposite end of each rod 37 isfitted through an aperture 38 in the card reader and retainer portion12. This portion 12 is constructed as a double partition 39 and 40 witha base 42 to provide a slot 41 of a size to permit card 30 to beinserted therein and to align all punched apertures 31 with theapertures 38 in the divided partitions 39 and 40. Thus rods 37 willnormally be in the position as illustrated in FIG. 1 with one end in theaperture 38 of partition 40 while the opposite end of rod 37 is retainedby the hook shaped portion 35 of key 23. A plurality of small bores 44are provided in platform P in alignment with each rod 37. Mounted ineach bore 44 is a spring S that is compressed when rod 37 is in thismounted position. Thus it is apparent, referring to one rod, that if thebutton 28 of the key 23 retaining that particular rod is depressed, theend of rod 37 will be released and the spring S will propel selector rod37 to pass through both apertures 38 of partitions 39 and 40 and furtherto engage the automatic means for driving said selector rods into aplurality of cards. A rod 45X is mounted through slots 45A (asillustrated in FIG. 1) across all rods 37 to be used for returning orresetting all rod 37 to their initial position with the end 35 of keys,23 engaging the upturned end 36 of all rods 37. This is performedmanually. It is to be further noted that a pair of keys 46 are mountedon either side of the frame 18 (FIG. 1). Keys 46 are pivotally retainedon a rod 47 mounted through frame 18. One end of each key 46 is a buttondepressing portion 48, the opposite end is provided with an aperture 49through which rod 45X is mounted. Thus with all rods positioned aillustrated in FIG. 1, if the keys 46 on each side are actuated bydepressing buttons 48, rod 45X will be lifted lifting all keys 23 andreleasing all rods 37. This is utilized as to be described later.Referring to the automatic means 15 for driving said selector rods, thisis comprised of a pair of rollers 50 and 51 mounted in juxtapositionsimilar to a washing machine wringer, that is, rollers 50 and 51 aremounted to provide a frictional contact to rods 37 but with enoughresiliency to allow rods 37 to be propelled between rollers 50 and 51and by means of the frictional contact propelled forward as illustratedin dotted lines (FIG. 1). A motor 52 is mounted under rollers 50 and 51and by means of a pulley '53 on motor 52 a belt 54 mounted around pulley53 and around a second pulley 55 on roller 51 drives roller 51 toprovide the propelling means. Motor 52 is a reversible motor thus whenoperated in one direction it will provide a counterclockwise rotation ofroller -1 to propel rods 37 forward to the left (FIG. 1). And, of coursewhen motor 52 is reversed in its operation roller 51 will be driven in aclockwise direction to return rods 37 and permit the resetting of rods37 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Rollers 50 and 51 and motor 52 are allsupported between the sides 18S and between partition 39 and a furtherpartition 56 in the relationship as illustrated in FIG. 1. Partition 56is provided with a plurality of apertures 57 that are in alignment withapertures 38 of partitions 39 and 40 to insure the aligned travel of rod37 as it is propelled forward and the back end 58 is provided withsimilar apertures 57 for the same reason.

Referring to the portion 16 of the device there is illustrated an openchamber 60 surrounded by sides 185 on two sides and surrounded bypartition 56 and the back end 58 of frame 18. At the bottom of chamber60 affixed to either side 185 there is provided a pair of ledges 61(FIGS. 1 and 5). Each ledge 61 is pivotally supported at 62 and normallyretained in the position as illustrated in full lines thus providing asupport on either side of frame 18 to retain a stack of cards asillustrated in FIG. 1. To retain the stack of cards in an uprightaligned relationship, there is provided a rack 65 and a detent 66 thatis spring pressed into engagement between the teeth of rack 65. One endof rack 65 is provided with a back up plate 67 while the opposite end ofrack 65 is affixed to a spring 68, spring 68 being anchored to anextension rod 69 from frame 18. In operation with a stack of cards inposition as illustrated in FIG. 1, the rack 65 is pushed inward to theright so that the back up plate 67 abuts with and compresses the cards30 and retains the cards 30 as shown ready for a sorting of a particularcard or cards from said stack of cards. Referring to FIG. 5 ledges 61may be pivotally moved to the dotted position by means -of solenoids 63.A solenoid is mounted on either side of frame 18 by a strap 63 Solenoid63 is connected to the end of ledge 61 so that when solenoid 63 isenergized it will pull ledge 61 and move it pivotally to the dottedposition thus removing the pair of ledges from their supporting positionunder cards 30 and of course when solenoid 63 is de-energized, ledges 61will again assume the full line position as illustrated (FIG. 5). Ledges61 may be counterbalanced to retain this normal position or they may bespring pressed to retain the position illustrated. Mounted upon the backend 58 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3) there is provided a motor 70 that is providedwith a pair of offset weighted elements 71 that in operation provide avibrating reaction due to the fact that motor M is resiliently mountedto said back end 58 and with the rotation of elements 71 there is anoscillation of the motor with relation to its mounting providing avibration which is transmitted through the back end 58 and through rods37 to the stack of cards mounted in chamber 60. The reason for thisvibration is as follows: when a stack of cards 30 have been positionedas illustrated and a rod or particular rods 37 have been propelledthrough the stack of cards 30 to the back end 58 in this positionsolenoids 63 may be energized to release ledges 61 and the detent .66may be pressed releasing the back up plate 67 thus the stack of cardswill be hanging on the particular rods 37 that have been propelledthrough the stack of cards. In the selection of a card or cards forparticular data, there will only be certain cards in the stack of cardsthat have been slotted as illustrated in FIG. 7. Therefore with thecards 30 hanging loosely from rods 37 any card slotted at rod 37 willdrop from the stack. However due to frictional contact with adjoiningcards, the vibration set up through rods 37 tends to overcome thefrictional contact and to separate card from card allowing anyunsupported card to drop.

To provide automatic operation with this device, referring to FIG. 8,there is a schematic illustration of the electrical circuit utilized. Atimer motor is provided, motor 80 is provided with a brush contact 81that rotates clockwise over a circular supporting face 82. Face 82 isprovided with a plurality of contact elements 83 that vary in sizeaccording to the duration of the contact desired. The timer motor 80 isconnected to ground on one side by a lead 84. Motor 80 is connected onthe other side to a starter switch 85 by a lead 86. The opposite sideorswitch 85 is connected by a lead 87 to a battery or source ofpotential 88. The opposite side of battery is connected to ground by alead 89. Thus the closing of the switch 85 will energize the timer motor80 and start its clockwise rotation of the brush contact 81. As soon asthe brush contact 81 starts rotation, it will contact two of theelements 83, that is, contact and 91. Contact 90 .completes a holdingcircuit for the motor 80, that is, the contact 90 is connected by a lead92 to lead 86 to one side of motor 80. The brush contact 81 is connectedby a lead 93 to one side of the battery 88. Thus a circuit is completedfrom ground through lead 89 through battery 88 through lead 93 throughcontact 81 to contact element 90 through lead 92 through lead 86 to oneside of motor 80, the opposite side of motor 80 being connected by lead84 to ground. Thus motor 80 Will continue to operate for a complete 360cycle before stopping. When brush contact 81 contacts contact element91, a circuit is completed to the reversible motor 52 through a lead 94to drive motor 52 in a counterclockwise direction, the opposite side ofmotor 52 being connected to ground. Thus the circuit will be from groundthrough lead 89 through battery 88 through lead 93 through wiper contact81 to contact element 91 through lead 94 through motor 52 to ground.Motor 52 will be driven counterclockwise and referring to FIG. 1, it isapparent that the cycle or duration of drive of motor 52 is sufficientto drive rods 37 from the position as illustrated in full lines in FIG.1 to the position as illustrated in full lines in FIG. 3 when contact 81leaves contact element 91 to break the circuit. Thus with the rods 37driven through the stack of cards as shown in FIG. 3 the next operationis the energizing of solenoids 63. The wiper contact 81 will nextcontact contact element 95, element 95 being connected by a lead 96 toboth solenoids 63 in series and on the opposite side of solenoid 63 toground. Thus a circuit will be set up from ground through lead 89through battery 88 through lead 93 through wiper contact 81 throughcontact element 95 through lead 96 through both solenoids 63 to ground.Solenoids 63 will retract the card holding ledges 61 on either side ofthe frame 18 as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 5. Thus only thecards in the stack that have not been notched will be retained bywhatever rods 37 that have been propelled into the position asillustrated in FIG. 3. Any cards that have been notched at theparticular position at which the rods 37 are passed through the cardswill drop when ledges 61 are retracted. It is to be understood that thedetent 66 holding the pinion rack 65 is pressed to release the pinionrack as illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus the cards are hanging loosely fromthe rod or rods 37. To assist in dislodging any card or cards that havebeen notched, the vibrator motor 70 is now operated. Referring to FIG. 8as the brush or wiper contact 81 advances in its clockwise rotation, thenext contact element that it completes a circuit through is element 97which is connected by a lead 98 to the vibrator motor 70, the oppositeside of motor 70 being connected to ground. Thus a circuit is set upfrom ground through lead 89 through battery 88 through lead 93 throughwiper contact 81 through contact element 97 through lead 98 throughmotor 70 to ground. Thus the vibrator motor 70 will continue to operateas long as the wiper element 81 moves over contact 97. When it leavescontact 97, the vibrator motor will stop. During this period any card orcards that may be frictionally retained by cards on either side thereofwill be jarred loose by the vibration and thus drop from the stack. Thedevice having completed its function of picking out or droppingparticular cards according to a desired data is now ready to be reset,except that the vibrator motor 70 must stop then, the wiper contact 81will continue and will next leave contact 95 thus breaking the circuitto solenoids 63 allowing the card supporting ledges 61 to return totheir normal supporting position as illustrated in FIG. 5. With theremaining cards supported, the rods 37 must be withdrawn from the stack.The wiper contact 81 in its rotation will next contact element 99 whichis connected by a lead 100 to the reversible motor 52 which is in turnconnected on the opposite side to ground thus driving motor 52 in aclockwise rotation so that rollers 50 and 51 will return rods 37 to theposition as illustrated inFIG. 1. However, due to the resistanceprovided by springs 44 it is necessary to manually move rod 45 whileengaged with all upturned ends 36 of rods 37 in a horizontalrelationship far enough to the right (FIG. 1) to permit all hook shapedends 35 of keys 23 to engage the upright ends 36. The circuit for thisoperation may be followed from ground through lead 89 through battery 88through lead 93 through contact brush 81 through contact 99 through lead100 to motor 52 through the opposite side of motor 52 to ground. Thewiper contact 81 will leave contact 99 stopping motor 52 and by means ofcontact 90 wiper brush will continue to complete its cycle of operationand stop and is ready for its next cycle of operation which must beinitiated by the starter switch 85. It is to be understood that thestack of cards remaining in chamber 60 may be removed and a new stack ofcards may be inserted in chamber 60 for the next sorting operation andthe rack 65 is again pushed against the stack of cards to retain allcards in the position as illustrated in FIG. 1. In a sorting operationwith a paraticular card such as that illustrated in FIG. 7 having beenpunched as already disclosed, this particular card on the top edge willhave five notches which indicates that there are five items of data thatare to be picked from the stack of cards now loaded in chamber 60. Thusthis particular card 30 illustrated in FIG. 7 may be inserted in thecard reader slot 41 and by depressing both buttons 48, rod 45X will liftall keys 23 releasing all rods 37. When all rods 37 are released, onlyfive of the released rods will penetrate through partitions 39 and 40 toa position against rollers 50 and 51. Referring to FIG. 4 this isclearly illustrated, that is, rods 37 will abut with the card 30 wherethe card has not been notched but rods 37 will pass through card 30where the card has been notched. Thus in this instance five rods willabut with rollers 50 and 51. The sequence of operation thereafter is asalready described in which switch 85 is actuated starting the timermotor which in turn operates the reversible motor 52 in acounterclockwise direction thus driving rollers 5051 which pick up thefive rods advancing rods 37 through the stack of cards until the rodsabut with the perforations 57 in the back end 58 when motor 52 stops andthe sequence of operation continues thus permitting rods 37 to retainthe stack of cards but any card or cards having the five items of dataslotted will drop from the stack when the cards are agitated thusselecting any card or cards having the desired data from the stack ofcards.

Thus it is apparent that with the device as illustrated and describedand designed primarily for the card as illustrated in FIG. 7 although itmay be designed for different size cards if desired, the card withoutslots may be inserted on platform P so that the edge abuts with theraised portion 25 and any desired data may be slotted on the card thatis inserted. Of course each key 28 that is depressed must represent theparticular data that is desired. With the card so punched, the card maybe inserted in the reader slot 41 with the punched edge on the topsurface. In operation with a particular stack of cards or if a greatmany successive stacks of cards must be inserted in chamber 60, theracks 65 must be pushed in to retain each stack in succession in perfectalignment. The device is then ready so that keys 48 may de depressed andall rods released. The start switch is then momentarily depressedstarting the timer motor operating and the complete operation continuesautomatically thereafter as described above. Thus a card or cards willbe selected from the stack and the operation repeated until all cardshave been selected. The device is then reset and isready for a newoperation. It is apparent that with this device a card may be punchedwith one slot or a plurality of slots. A card maybe used in the readerslot to distinguishtthe particular data desired and the completeoperation will continue to select the desired cards. It is also tobeunderstood that if a stack of cards containing desired slotting isinserted in chamber 60 without using a card in the reader slot 41, anybutton or buttons 28 may be depressed releasing the rod associated withthat button which will in turn, after the actuation of the starterbutton, select the card or cards in the stack having the informationaccording to the button 28 depressed.

Referring to FIG. 6 there is illustrated a card ejector means for thereader slot to facilitate the removal of the single card 30 after eachoperation. The ejector means is simply a pivotally supported key 101having a push button end 102 and having an ejector card contacting end103. With .key 101 mounted in alignment with slot 41 on either side offrame 18 with an opening in the bottom 42, it is apparent that bydepressing button 102, the end 103 Will raise card 30 so that it may beeasily removed from the device.

It is to be understood that single edge cards or double edge cards maybe utilized by simply turning the card over in the event double edgedcards are used and although a particular size card 30 has been shown,any desired size or shape card may be used in the device as long as thedevice is extended to accept that particular size or shape card. It isalso to be understood that although .a particular method of slotting theedges of the cards has been illustrated, the cards may be slotted inother fashions without departing from the spirit of this invention andalthough FIG. 2 illustrates a plurality of buttons and rods to beactuated, the number of buttons and rods may be varied according to thecards designed for the machine and although a roller driving means hasbeen illustrated for propelling rods 37 through the stack, other meansmay be utilized without departing from the spirit of this invention andalthough a vibrator has been associated with chamber 60 for dislodgingselected cards from a stack, any form of vibrator may be utilizedwithout departing from the spirit of this invention and although a pairof ledges have been provided in chamber 60 to support the stack ofcards, any supporting means may be provided as long as it may bewithdrawn as desired without departing from the spirit of this inventionand this invention shall be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for holding a stack of cards having aligned apertures ontheir edges including:

(a) a plurality of slotting punches arranged in a straight line, saidpunches each supported on the end of a typewriter like key having anidentifying button, said keys pivotally supported by a main frame in aresiliently maintained raised position, a card slot in said main frame,a plurality of punch bores at 90 to said slot and in alignment with oneedge of said card slot, said punches fitted into said bores for slottinga card selectively.

(b) a bottomless card stack holding chamber provided with releasablemeans to hold said cards in alignment in said chamber and means tocompress said cards into an upright position in said chamber so that allsimilar information slotted into said cards will be in alignment,

(c) a plurality of selector rods mounted in a single plane on aplatform, each rod aligning with the key of a slotting punch, each rodat one end releasably retained by the end of the key with which italigns, each rod provided with means to propel said rod away from thekey with which it aligns when released, each rod fitted throughperforations to guide said rod When propelled away from said key,

(d) a motor-operated driving means to grip and drive selected rodsthrough the aligned apertures in said stack of cards after the selectedrod or rods are released and propelled away from said keys,

(e) means to release the compression on said stack of cards and drop anyone or more cards that have been slotted at the perforations throughwhich the selector rod or rods have been driven, means to release anyindividual selector rod with the aligned key.

2. In a device according to claim 1 in which there is included a readerslot for a card positioned at to said selector rods and in juxtapositionwith the ends of said selector rods, said reader slot being of a size toreceive a single card and align the slotted apertures on one edge ofsaid card with the selector rods.

3. In a device according to claim 1 in which there is included a readerslot for a card positioned at 90 to said selector rods and injuxtaposition with the ends of said selector rods, said reader sl-otbeing of a size to receive a single card and align the slotted apertureson one edge of said card with the selector rods, and in which there isindicluded a pair of depressing or releasing buttons connected to areleasing means for all selector rods to release all rods that arepropelled to abut with a card in said reader slot thus providing themeans to permit a rod or rods to pass through only the slottedapertures.

4. A device for holding a stack of cards having aligned apertures ontheir edges including:

(a) a plurality of typewriter like keys having an identifying button,said keys pivotally supported by a main frame in a resilientlymaintained raised position, said keys provided with a holding means atthe end opposite to said buttons,

(b) a bottomless card stack holding chamber provided with releasablemeans to hold said cards in alignment in said chamber and means tocompress said cards into an upright position in said chamber so that allsimilar information slotted into said cards will be in alignment,

(c) a plurality of selector rods mounted in a single plane on aplatform, each rod aligning with a key, each rod at one end releasablyretained by the end of the key with which it aligns, each rod providedwith means to propel said rod away from the key with which it alignswhen released, each rod fitted through perforations to guide said rodwhen propelled away from said key,

(d) a motor-operated driving means to grip and drive selected rodsthrough the aligned apertures in said stack of cards after the selectedrod or rods are released and propelled away from said keys,

(e) means to release the compression on said stack of cards and drop anyone or more cards that have been slotted at the perforations throughwhich the selector rod or rods have been driven, means to release anyindividual selector rod with the aligned key.

5. In a device according to claim 4 in which a vibrator is affixed tosaid card stack holding chamber to shake the cards when the compressionon said cards has been released to promote the dropping of theunsupported cards.

6. In a device according to claim 4 in which a reset rod is positionedacross all selector rods and slidable in a horizontal plane to abut withone end of said selector rods to manually retract all rods to a resetposition and removed from said device.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,217,744 10/1940 Gruenhutl2916.1 2,524,918 10/1950 McKeOWn 129-161 2,640,485 6/1953 Zalkindl29--l6.l

JEROME SCHNAL Primary am e

1. A DEVICE FOR HOLDING A STACK OF CARDS HAVING ALIGNED APERTURES ONTHEIR EDGES INCLUDING: (A) A PLURALITY OF SLOTTING PUNCHES ARRANGED IN ASTRAIGHT LINE, SAID PUNCHES EACH SUPPORTED ON THE END OF A TYPEWRITERLIKE KEY HAVING AN IDENTIFYING BUTTON, SAID KEYS PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED BYA MAIN FRAME IN A RESILIENTLY MAINTAINED RAISED POSITION, A CARD SLOT INSAID MAIN FRAME, A PLURALITY OF PUNCH BORES AT 90* TO SAID SLOT AND INALIGNMENT WITH ONE EDGE OF SAID CARD SLOT, SAID PUNCHES FITTED INTO SAIDBORES FOR SLOTTING A CARD SELECTIVELY. (B) A BOTTOMLESS CARD STACKHOLDING CHAMBER PROVIDED WITH RELEASABLE MEANS TO HOLD SAID CARDS INALIGNMENT IN SAID CHAMBER AND MEANS TO COMPRESS SAID CARDS INTO ANUPRIGHT POSITION IN SAID CHAMBER SO THAT ALL SIMILAR INFORMATION SLOTTEDINTO SAID CARDS WILL BE IN ALIGNMENT, (C) A PLURALITY OF SELECTOR RODSMOUNTED IN A SINGLE PLANE ON A PLATFORM, EACH ROD ALIGNING WITH THE KEYOF A SLOTTING PUNCH, EACH ROD AT ONE END RELEASABLY RETAINED BY THE ENDOF THE KEY WITH WHICH IT ALIGNS, EACH ROD PROVIDED WITH MEANS TO PROPELSAID ROD AWAY FROM THE KEY WITH WHICH IT ALIGNS WHEN RELEASED, EACH RODFITTED THROUGH PERFORATIONS TO GUIDE SAID ROD WHEN PROPELLED AWAY FROMSAID KEY, (D) A MOTOR-OPERATED DRIVING MEANS TO GRIP AND DRIVE SELECTEDRODS THROUGH THE ALIGNED APERTURES IN SAID STACK OF CARDS AFTER THESELECTED ROD OR RODS ARE RELEASED AND PROPELLED AWAY FROM SAID KEYS, (E)MEANS TO RELEASE THE COMPRESSION ON SAID STACK OF CARDS AND DROP ANY ONEOR MORE CARDS THAT HAVE BEEN SLOTTED AT THE PERFORATIONS THROUGH WHICHTHE SELECTOR ROD OR RODS HAVE BEEN DRIVEN, MEANS TO RELEASE ANYINDIVIDUAL SELECTOR ROD WITH THE ALIGNED KEY.